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I’ve now had time to put some real mileage on our long-term family hauler. After commuting, weekend errand-running, and road trips, I’ve gotten to know the ins and outs of the giant crossover. I’ve done the nearly 600-mile roundtrip drive between Huntington Beach and Las Vegas to visit family twice. I’ve carried six passengers in surprising comfort and have hauled some giant stuff in the rear with just the third row folded down.

The first observation is just how comfy the GL makes any drive. Although I think rear- and around-view cameras are the priority for mandatory equipment, ventilated seats should be right behind them on the list. The massage function isn’t so bad either on the drive home after a long day at the office or test track. The HVAC system is top-notch and the multitude of vents around the entire cabin takes cooling to another level. The vents in the roof above the rear doors are nothing short of perfection for a tiny passenger in rear-facing child seat.

Ride and handling are superior as well, and even though in most cars I generally put adjustable suspension in Sport mode and leave it, the button in the GL is getting some use. On the highway, the GL ride could best be described as a gliding experience. It feels planted and secure, but road imperfections disappear. The Sport mode is never too harsh and makes reactions a bit sharper around town for quicker maneuvering.

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I’m still acclimating to the size, but part of that is inadequately sized architecture and not the fault of the big Benz. Several of the drive-throughs in my area have turns sharp enough to challenge even small-car drivers and explain why the curbs are scarred with rubber from the tires of hungry, impatient patrons. The Surround View Cameras have kept the GL from scuffing tires or taking out the speaker box masquerading as a clown. There is a certain level of irony driving a $90,000 SUV up to the Burger-Mania food-dispensing window, but this is California. Seeing Bentleys and Ferraris at fast food places is pretty common.

It is rare that I drive the GL for an entire week straight. I quite often find myself in sports cars or smaller economy cars for testing during the week, then get back in the GL for the weekend. After talking with Mercedes marketing folk, it sounds like this is pretty common practice for most GL owners. The average GL sits in a garage with a few other vehicles, likely sports and or classic cars, and serves a very specific purpose.

For hauling people and all of life’s stuff around, it seems ideally suited. For my next update I hope to get it off-road or maybe even tow something. For $90,000, I’m expecting it to be the master of every task.

2013 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class News and Reviews

My year with our long-term, 2013 SUV Of The Year-winning Mercedes GL350 Bluetec is up. I’ve actually had it a couple of months past the year, but sometimes it’s hard to let go. We consider our Of The Year testing to be exhaustive in detail, but actually living with a vehicle for a year reveals strengths and weaknesses we couldn’t…

I know some people cringe at the thought of reading instructions. If that’s you, skip ahead a little bit and prepare your angry comment.This is what we call a long-term update, meaning that it might or might not include driving impressions. What it will have is information and impressions on what it’s like to live with this particular vehicle from…

I recently had the opportunity to do some soft-roading in our long-term Truckster, and when I say soft-roading, I mean stuff that people might try to tackle in a car. A normal car's ride height would have sufficed, but I was on surfaces ranging from deep gravel to silt-covered compacted dirt. None of this should sound challenging, but throw in…

Another family road trip is in the books. This time it was 1600 miles for a wedding in the Reno area with my wife and toddler. Since much of the family flew in, I became one of the dedicated chauffeurs, and the GL was the limo of choice. Somehow when you give people the option of riding in a $90,000…

I've now had time to put some real mileage on our long-term family hauler. After commuting, weekend errand-running, and road trips, I've gotten to know the ins and outs of the giant crossover. I've done the nearly 600-mile roundtrip drive between Huntington Beach and Las Vegas to visit family twice. I've carried six passengers in surprising comfort and have hauled…